James Sowole in Akure
Police in Ondo State on Tuesday said investigation had commenced on the cause of death of a couple, Mr. and Mrs. Femi Oguntunwase, who were found dead in their house located at New Sight area of Oba Ile town in Akure North Local Government Area of the state.
The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Femi Joseph, who disclosed this, said however, that nobody had been arrested over the incident.
According to a source in the town, the lifeless bodies of the couple were found on the floor of the sitting room of their apartment last Saturday afternoon.
The source said the husband, Femi, was on the ground naked while the wife, Modupe, was also on the floor in a T-shirt and a wrapper just as a bottle of palm oil was found beside them.
A resident of the area who identified herself as Seluwa, said the couple were seen in the morning of the fateful day hale and hearty, adding that they were surprised to hear the news of their death in the afternoon.
“We saw the husband in the morning greeting everybody but we were surprised to hear of his death in the afternoon,” she said.
According to Seluwa, some bowls of pap and bean cake (Akara) were seen beside the deceased which showed that they died after taking their breakfast.
It was gathered that when the neighbours entered into the apartment, palm oil was found in the deceased’s mouths which indicated that they might have eaten food poison and drank palm oil to neutralise it.
“We saw palm oil in their mouths, it may be when they were having stomach pain, they drank the palm oil. We also discovered that the death happened after their breakfast,” she added.
The PPRO said the remains of the deceased had been deposited at the state Specialists Hospital, Akure.
Joseph said the command had not been able to establish what killed the couple, adding that it is after the autopsy that the command would know the next move.
